Tourism boost after new destination management partnership agreed

The new 'Suffolk-Norfolk LVEP' joins the likes of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, the Peak District, Kent, Cumbria, the Cotswolds and Yorkshire as well as cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool.

Visit East of England chair Andy Wood said, "We’re delighted that Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils have worked with us to make this successful joint LVEP application. We’ve brought together all the destination organisations and local authorities in the past few years, and this excellent news means we can grow that collaborative approach and deliver more for what is our largest industry sector and biggest employer."

Spearheaded, developed and administered by Visit East of England and supported by Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils, tourism businesses in the new Suffolk-Norfolk LVEP will benefit from funding, marketing, job creation support and will be given the opportunity to put their business on the national and international stage.

Cllr Kay Mason Billig, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: "The influence of tourism on our county is immense in terms of jobs and economic impact, and the new partnership promises to increase investment into Norfolk and raise our profile nationally and internationally".

To reinforce its application for LVEP accreditation, Visit East of England received many letters of support from stakeholders including Lord Leicester of Holkham, the Broads Authority, Stansted Airport, Norwich International Airport, Greater Anglia, National Trust East, English Heritage, Transport East, the VENI Skills Group, Norfolk and Suffolk Tourist Attractions group, Gt Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area, Bury St Edmunds BID, Discover Newmarket, local authorities and businesses such as English Distillery and Maids Head Hotel Norwich. 

Cllr Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Economic Development and Skills, added: "Our historic towns and villages, picturesque coastline and attractions like Snape Maltings, Sutton Hoo and racehorses training in Newmarket make it a wonderful destination all-year round. This new LVEP status will help us to showcase what the region has to offer at a national level, attracting more visitors and realising the full potential of our visitor economy."

As well as a nationally recognised official status, LVEPs have access to resources and guidance from VisitBritain and VisitEngland including product distribution, accessibility, sustainability, business support and marketing. 

An important strand of support will be highlighting available Government funding streams as well as developing and providing a ‘toolkit’ to help LVEPs with bids to those streams.

Cllr Fabian Eagle, Cabinet Lead for Economic Growth at Norfolk County Council said: "The Norfolk visitor economy is worth more than £3bn a year and is one of our key industry sectors accounting for nearly 20% of all jobs in the county. A successful Local Visitor Economy Partnership will help us to grow the sector even further and support high-quality jobs across the county."

The new Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for Suffolk and Norfolk will support the visitor economy of the region, which is worth £5.5billion and employs more than 100,000 people. 

For more information about the new LVEP for Suffolk-Norfolk, please visit https://www.visiteastofengland.com/

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Email Rechenda Smith at rechenda@nurturemarketing.co.uk